Rain Brings Growth Podcast
You don’t grow without going through some rain.
The Rain Brings Growth Podcast is a raw, real, and unfiltered show about personal growth forged through adversity. Hosted by Matthew Sidwell, this podcast dives into the stories that shape who we become—faith, fitness, fatherhood, mindset, discipline, and the hard lessons learned through life’s storms.
Each episode features honest conversations with everyday people and high performers alike—law enforcement officers, entrepreneurs, parents, athletes, and individuals who have faced loss, addiction, failure, trauma, and setbacks… and chose to grow anyway.
This isn’t motivation for motivation’s sake.
It’s about:
- Owning your past
- Building discipline over comfort
- Becoming a better husband, father, and leader
- Breaking generational cycles
- Growing stronger mentally, physically, and spiritually
Whether you’re in a season of struggle or a season of rebuilding, this podcast is a reminder that rain isn’t the end of the story—it’s the beginning of growth.
🎧 New episodes weekly
📺 Full video episodes on YouTube
🌧️ Growth starts where comfort ends
Episodes
37 episodes
Episode 74 | Michael Nappi | From 16 Years in Prison to Faith, Leadership & Redemption
Michael Nappi spent roughly 16 years of his life behind bars.Growing up in Long Beach, California, Michael entered juvenile hall at just 12 years old. From there came gangs, violence, drugs, armed robbery, and years inside the prison sy...
Episode 73 | Matthew Wyatt | Leaving Mormonism, Surviving Addiction & Finding Jesus
Matthew Wyatt’s story is one of addiction, destruction, faith, redemption, and what can happen when a man finally reaches the point of complete surrender.In this episode of Rain Brings Growth, Matthew shares the brutally honest story be...
Episode 72 | Dave Vargas | What 20 Years in Law Enforcement Did to Me
What happens when 20 years in law enforcement, years of SWAT operations, accumulated trauma, and the pressure to always be the strong one finally become too much?In this episode of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Dave Vargas shares his ...
Episode 71 | Victor Villarreal | From Gang Life and Prison to Breaking Generational Cycles
In Episode 71 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Victor Villarreal for one of the most raw and powerful stories shared on the show.Victor grew up in Caldwell, Idaho with six sisters, a single mom, and a childhood mar...
Episode 69 | Taylor Musgrove | 5 Figures In Debt, Drinking & Stuck Then Everything Changed
In Episode 69 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with @TAYLOR.THRASHER for a powerful conversation about fitness, weight loss, money, mindset,...
Episode 68 | Taylor Donaldson | From Marine to Bodybuilder Finding Herself
In Episode 68 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Taylor Donaldson for a raw conversation about the Marine Corps, bodybuilding, toxic relationships, identity, trauma, death, discipline, and rebuilding yourself from the inside...
Episode 66 | Kevino Lewis | Loyalty, Guns, Racism & the Split-Second Choices That Change Your Life
Kevino is BACK on the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, and somehow this conversation gets even crazier than the first one.From getting arrested in the military with a loaded gun in his car to street culture, racism, loyalty, ego, relationship...
Episode 65 | Kevin Bravo & Cody Fernley | I Blamed God for My Dad’s Death Until He Saved Me
In Episode 65 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Kevin Bravo and Cody Fernley for the first three-person episode in the history of the show and a raw conversation about faith, fitness, pain, purpose, fatherhood, and what it ...
Episode 64 | Nicole Duke | From Heroin Addiction to Healing Through Faith, Fitness, and Recovery
In Episode 64 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Nicole Duke for one of the rawest and most powerful recovery stories shared on the show.Nicole opens up about growing up in Idaho as a pastor’s kid while being surroun...
Episode 63 | Jon Klipstein | From Combat Veteran to Building a Mission Driven Supplement Brand
In Episode 63 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Jon Klipstein, Army combat veteran, entrepreneur, and founder of The Die Trying Company.Jon’s story starts in Billings, Montana, where he grew up around sports but eve...
Episode 62 | Amanda Halona | From Addiction, Prison, and Losing Her Children to 5 Years Sober
Amanda’s story is one of the most raw and powerful testimonies shared on Rain Brings Growth.After becoming a mom at only 14 years old, losing her 4-month-old son to SIDS, falling into meth and heroin addiction, going to prison, losing c...
Episode 61 | Rudy Vasquez | From Addiction to Purpose: Stacking Wins and Reclaiming Life
In this episode of Rain Brings Growth, Matt sits down with Rudy Vasquez, barber, entrepreneur, father, and living proof that real transformation happens one decision at a time.Rudy shares his powerful story of battling alcohol addiction...
Episode 60 | Sean Thompson | From Badge to Barbell: Building Nine Realms Athletics
In this episode of Rain Brings Growth, Matt sits down with Sean Thompson, owner of Nine Realms Athletics in Caldwell, Idaho, for a powerful conversation about resilience, law enforcement, fitness, marriage, PTSD, entrepreneurship, and building ...
Episode 59 | Luis Granados | Breaking Chains: From Lost Kid to Leading the Mission
In Episode 59 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Luis Granados for one of the most powerful stories yet.Luis grew up in Idaho after his parents came from Mexico searching for opportunity. What started as a childhood ...
Episode 58 | Jim Ash | Addiction, Rock Bottom, And Redemption
What happens when addiction starts at home?In Episode 58 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Jim shares the unbelievable true story of how his own father introduced him to meth at just 16 years old during a hunting trip in the Idaho back...
Episode 57 | Bryan “Bam” Marshall | From Iraq to Entrepreneurship: Escaping the Rat Race
Episode 57 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast features Bryan “Bam” Marshall — a Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur, adrenaline junkie, and the host of the Wild Chaos Podcast.In this episode, Bam dives deep into his wild upbringing in ups...
Episode 56 | Jamie Shepard | Foster Care to Recovery: Addiction, Trauma & Generational Curses
In Episode 56 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Matt sits down with Jamie Shepard for one of the most raw and emotional conversations yet.Jamie opens up about growing up in foster care, surviving abuse, battling addiction, becoming a y...
Episode 55 | Scott Larson | He Survived a Plane Explosion, War, and Addiction… Then Changed His Life
What happens when you survive war… but almost lose your life to alcohol?In Episode 55 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Scott Larson shares a powerful story of survival, addiction, and redemption. From joining the military at 17 to exp...
Episode 54 | Hunting Talk | The Truth About Hunting: The Grind, Ethics, and The Stories Nobody Sees
In this roundtable episode of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, we sit down with some of the real voices in the hunting space to break down what hunting actually looks like beyond the highlight reels.Featuring creators like Richard Betten...
Episode 53 | Scott Curtis | From DUI to Discipline, Faith, Risk, and Building a New Life
In Episode 53 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, Scott Curtis shares a raw, unfiltered story of transformation from reckless decisions and addiction to faith, discipline, and building a life with purpose.Scott opens up about hitting roc...
Episode 52 | Erik Roberts | He Survived What Most Wouldn’t
This might be one of the most intense and powerful stories ever shared on the Rain Brings Growth Podcast.Eric takes us through a life marked by extreme adversity…A devastating motocross crash that left him paralyzed, in a coma, and ...
Episode 51 Tyler Schuler Breaking Generational Curses With Food and Fitness
In this episode of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, we sit down with Tyler Schuler, owner of The Protein Spot in Boise, Idaho. Tyler shares his powerful journey from being over 100 pounds overweight and pre-diabetic as a teenager to building mul...
Episode 50 | She Forgave Her Sister’s Killer… This Is Her Story | Vanessa Ayala
Episode 50 of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast is one you won’t forgetVanessa Ayala opens up about a life that most people would never see on the surface From what looked like a normal childhood to the reality of pain loss and growth behi...
Episode 49 | Luke Sanders — Faith, Fatherhood and Purpose
In this episode of the Rain Brings Growth Podcast, I sit down with Luke Sanders, also known as @skywalker.life, to talk about faith, fatherhood and becoming the man your family needs.Luke shares his story growing up in a small town in N...